U.S. Census Bureau survey must be filled out by law, but...

Bob Cole, who hosts Austin radio station KOKE-FM's weekday morning show, said on the air last week he couldn’t believe the U.S. Census Bureau told him he was legally required to participate in a government survey.

"In a few days you will receive an American Community Survey questionnaire in the mail," the bureau said in a letter to Cole. The letter said: "Because you are living in the United States, you are required by law to respond to this survey." Cole gave us a copy of a bureau envelope with this nudge outside: "Your response is required by law."

The ACS, sent annually in recent years to asampling of more than 3 million U.S. households, collects detailed information on population and housing, helping to update the information gathered in every decennial census, the bureausays online. "Estimates from the ACS contribute to providing an important picture of America, and an accurate response to the ACS questionnaire is important," the agency says.

Except: The bureau has not prosecuted anyone for not filling out a survey since the 1970 census. Bureau spokeswoman Stacy Gimbel Vidal told us the bureau is "really not in the business of prosecuting people who don’t comply."

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